Two authorities in argumentation theory present a view of argumentation as a means of resolving differences of opinion by testing the acceptability of the disputed positions. Their model of a "critical discussion" serves as a theoretical tool for analyzing, evaluating and producing argumentative discourse. This major contribution to the study of argumentation will be of particular value to professionals and graduate students in speech communication, informal logic, rhetoric, critical thinking, linguistics, and philosophy.
1. Introduction; 2. The realm of argumentation studies; 3. A model of a critical discussion; 4. Relevance; 5. Analysis as reconstruction; 6. Rules for a critical discussion; 7. Fallacies; 8. A code of conduct for reasonable discussants.
"...a major event in argumentation theory scholarship." Michael C. Leff, Northwestern University